Anyone familiar with the Blang record label knows that when encountering anything they release, expect the unexpected – unless what you expect is off-kilter, lyrically unusual, outside the box, and running at odds with the winds of fad and fashion. But then again, why would you have any truck with any label that wasn’t releasing music with such an attitude? Not enough of us do, surely, which is why we now live in a world of Oasis tribute bands, pop music made from rehashed 60’s soul records, and music sales directly linked to the amount of flesh the artist is revealing!
And if you have nodded sagely throughout this opening rant, not only can we be friends, but you are going to love this new one-two from En Heat.
“AntiStar” is a lyrical mix of The Streets (or, for those older readers and more discerning music fans, The Fall) and The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, a mercurial blend of streetsmart surrealism mixed with strange yet soulful sounds and Doorsian keyboard riffs. I know it is my job to prepare the listener and describe to them what is happening here, but every time I put pen to paper, I come out with a different take on things. But I will say that it feels both totally mad and quintessentially English.
“Fancy Ape,” which comes as its traveling companion, is a bit easier to describe…but only just… a 60’s infused, upbeat pop song but still nothing like anything you can imagine unless you can imagine Chaz and Dave writing songs with Moby Grape and then being covered by The Arctic Monkeys…hell, I don’t know. I guess I have reached the point where words fail me…in a good way. In a great way.
What I do know is that En Heat is a south coast supergroup. One part band leader Filthy Pedro, one part David Cronenberg’s Wife thanks to the appearance of Killer Stu, one part Fruity Water thanks to the presence of Small Talk Adam and lastly, one part Oliver Fist who seems to appear here representing only himself.
Now, you may not have heard of any of those names, but how can you read such a band resume and those marvelous names and not want to know more? You can’t, can you? No, you can’t.
